JAZZ@FIRST | INNER VISIONS: THE MUSIC OF STEVIE WONDER REIMAGINED

Guitarist Brad Myers joins the Phil DeGreg Trio to perform fresh jazz arrangements of songs by Stevie Wonder, one of the greatest pop songwriters of the latter 20th century. A 25-time Grammy Award winner, Wonder’s melodies and harmonies are pure genius, full of color and soul.

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Complimentary wine and cheese at intermission are included with your ticket.

 

Jazz@First Series Sponsor: Al Harris

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About the Artist: Brad Myers, guitar

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Playing music since the age of 6, the remarkable composer/guitarist Brad Myers decided to pursue transcendence through jazz expression at the age of 13. A highly eclectic musician, Brad has continued to perform in a wide variety of contexts, but his primary commitment to jazz is vividly demonstrated by the 2015 release of his album Prime Numbers, the first album released on his own label, Colloquy Records, and a stunning showcase for his brilliant talents as both composer and guitarist. Prime Numbers earned worldwide praise from critics and jazz radio alike, including “4 Stars” from Downbeat Magazine and rotation on PRI's Jazz After Hours program.

In 2017, Brad and Colloquy have released Sanguinaria (Hopefulsongs), a breathtaking and uplifting collaboration with bassist Michael Sharfe that focuses on the beautiful dialogue and interplay between jazz guitar and double bass in both duo and trio settings.

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Born and raised in the Washington D.C. area, Brad started to study guitar at age 10 under the early influence of The Beatles, Hendrix, Yes, Rush and the Allman Brothers, and maturing under the later inspiration of Jim Hall, the Bill Evans Trio, Keith Jarrett, Pat Metheny and John Scofield. He moved to Cincinnati in 1994 to study at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). Discovering the city’s deep musical history and its many outstanding musicians, Brad decided to forego the typical emigration to a larger coastal city and chose instead to contribute to his adopted home’s rich musical legacy.

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In 1998 Brad joined Ray’s Music Exchange, a popular Cincinnati based funk jazz outfit famed for long energetic improvisational grooves and inspired by a wide range of adventurous influences from Miles Davis and Frank Zappa to John Zorn and the Meters. For the next eight years, he contributed as guitarist, composer and producer; and when the group reunited in 2010, Brad produced their live DVD, A Live Rayunion.

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During his 20+ years as a much sought after sideman and co-leader of a variety of acclaimed ensembles, Brad has shared the stage with a variety of top names including John Scofield, Stanley Jordan, Victor Wooten, Bela Fleck, Hammond Artist Brian Charette, the Cincinnati Pops, the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra and many more. He was a featured guest soloist playing the "part" of Cal Collins in Nancy James and Carmen DeLeone’s A Salute to Rosemary Clooney; and he performed with Pernell Santurnini in a live broadcast from the renowned percussionist’s native Curaçao. Brad recently recorded with Fareed Haque in a big band recording of pieces from the guitar great’s Garaj Mahal, and then premiered the music live with him at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at Lincoln Center in NYC.

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Continuing to create on an eclectic canvas, Brad is heavily involved on the local scene – as a member of Steve Schmidt’s Organ Trio for the past six years; wielding a telecaster with the country/honky tonk group Jeremy Pinnell & the 55s; playing Western Swing music with The Midwestern Swing; performing progressive original jazz with The David McDonnell Group; acoustic vocal jazz and roots music with Jacklyn Chitwood in The Fraid Knots; the music of Steely Dan with Aja; and funky experimental jazz with Ray's Music Exchange.

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Brad has the heart of a teacher and for over 20 years has maintained a teaching studio that balances his performance schedule with his proclivity for passing on his knowledge. In 2013, Brad returned to CCM to pursue his formal studies and in 2015 received his Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies.

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Catalyzing all of his influences with his extensive musical experience, Brad Myers is staying busy and happily engaged in making his own powerful mark on the glorious legacy of jazz.

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Bio from allaboutjazz.com.

 

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About the Artist: Phil DeGreg, piano

 

Phil DeGreg began playing the piano in his childhood and now performs as a jazz pianist internationally. His earliest jazz influences were Bud Powell and Bill Evans, but he is accomplished and comfortable in a wide range of jazz styles, ranging from mainstream to bebop to Brazilian jazz. A graduate of Yale and the University of North Texas, he toured with the Woody Herman Orchestra in the 1980s and has 10 CDs to his credit as a leader. For 13 years he accompanied many national and international jazz artists in the house trio in Cincinnati’s famous Blue Wisp Jazz Club. He has been on staff with the renowned Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshops since 1983, and has performed and taught in Europe and South America.

 

Phil DeGreg is the retired Professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and is the recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts study grants. In 2008 he was awarded a 4-month Fulbright Fellowship as a lecturer in Brazil.

 

His text “Jazz Keyboard Harmony” is a practical text for teaching jazz harmony for all musicians, and is used all over the world in universities and for private study.

 

Learn more about Phil DeGreg on his website http://phildegreg.com.